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No Man's Sky Dev Explains What You Do, Expects Game to Be "Super Divisive"

"This game might not be for everyone," Sean Murray says.

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The much-anticipated No Man's Sky finally launches tomorrow, August 9. While the specifics of the game have come into focus in recent months, some people are imagining the game as something it's not. On the eve of its release, Hello Games founder Sean Murray has attempted to clarify the nature of the game and manage expectations that may be off-base.

In a blog post entitled "What Do You Do in No Man's Sky?" Murray offers a brief look back at how the project started and what his original goal was. "Sitting down to write the first lines of code five years ago, I had such a clear picture in my mind of an emotion I wanted you to feel," he said. "To wander around an alien planet, and to feel you had discovered it."

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Now Playing: GS News Update: Sean Murray Explains What You Do in No Man's Sky!

According to him, "That is what you do in No Man's Sky." He then goes on to highlight what the game "definitely is" with the following bullet-point list:

  • Exploring a universe of pretty procedurally generated worlds, with beautiful creatures
  • Trading with NPCs
  • Combat against robots/mechs and cool space battles
  • Survival/crafting in a universe sized sandbox
  • An awesome procedural soundtrack from my genuine favourite band (check the NMS album out here)
  • For one small moment, you might feel like you've stepped into a sci-fi book cover

In what sounds like an attempt to temper the expectations of people who imagine something more, he noted, "That means this maybe isn't the game you *imagined* from those trailers. If you hoped for things like PvP multiplayer or city building, piloting freighters, or building civilizations… that isn't what NMS is. Over time it might become some of those things through updates."

He added that two of those things, freights and base-building, are on the way. The recent reveal of the game's big launch update revealed those features and some visual enhancements are "next up."

"At launch though, it's an infinite procedural sci-fi-space-survival-sandbox unlike anything you have ever played before," Murray continued. "If you decide to play it, you'll see just how closely it plays to those trailers, and to our original vision. It's a weird game, it's a niche game, and it's a very, very chill game."

He concluded that he expects opinions to be mixed, saying, "This game might not be for everyone, I expect it to be super divisive, but I'm sat here watching playtesters right now who weren't supposed to be in, but just wanted to play and chill out. I can't wait for you to experience that for yourselves."

Following his blog post, Murray further clarified what the game is on Twitter. "To be super clear--No Man's Sky is not a multiplayer game. Please don't go in looking for that experience," he said in one tweet. Another added, "The chances of two players ever crossing paths in a universe this large is pretty much zero." Finally, he said, "We do have some online features and Easter eggs so people can know they are playing in the same universe. It's about cool 'moments.'"

No Man's Sky arrives for PS4 on August 9 in North America and August 10 in Europe, followed by a PC release on August 12.

The embargo for coverage on the game lifts tonight at 9 PM PT; check back with GameSpot then for a review-in-progress and much more.

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